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SALT LAKE CITY — With Halloween coming up, many people are thinking of the things that scare them, prompting a new survey showing which jobs American workers fear the most.
CareerBuilder conducted the survey with Harris Poll from Aug. 11 to Sept. 5. The online survey was given to 3,103 U.S. citizens who work full time in various industries and are not employed by the government or self-employed. The survey asked people to identify the job they found to be the most frightening.
While some of the responses triggered typical fears and seemed expected (like mortician at No. 7,) others were surprising (like a radio or cellular tower installers and repairers at No. 8.) Here are the top five “scariest” jobs in the U.S., according to the survey.
1. Politician
Politicians get blamed a lot for the problems in the U.S. and due to the large amount of responsibility, accountability to a large number of people, rejection and public speaking, the job of politician was ranked the No. 1 most feared job in America.
- Politician
- Microbiologist for infectious diseases
- Security guard at teen pop idol concert
- Kindergarten teacher
- Crime scene investigator
- Animal trainer
- Mortician
- Radio, cellular and tower equipment installers and repairers
- Stand-up comedian
- Parent
There are approximately 56,857 politicians and legislators in the U.S. and they have a median hourly pay of $9.89, according to Economic Modeling Specialists Intl. However, the average salary for a U.S. senator and member of the House of Representatives in 2014 was $174,000, according to the House Press Gallery.
2. Microbiologist for infectious disease
This job title seems particularly scary with the recent scares of Ebola outbreaks throughout the world, landing it in the No. 2 spot for most-feared jobs in the U.S. There are 20,800 microbiologists in the U.S. and they earn an average wage of $32.61 an hour, according to Economic Modeling Specialists Intl.
3. Security guard at teen pop idol concert
There are approximately 1.1 million security guards in the U.S. who serve in varied capacities, but working at a teen pop idol concert was the most feared duty, according to the survey. Many of the people surveyed voiced the fear of being trampled and of the loud screaming.
Security guards have a median hourly pay of $11.62, according to Economic Modeling Specialists Intl.
4. Kindergarten teacher
While any teacher can testify of the pressure of keeping a classroom of students under control for eight hours, the major fear of teaching kindergarten stemmed from a fear of germs, temper tantrums and having to “shape the minds of America’s youth,” according to the survey.
There are 158,084 kindergarten teachers in the U.S. (not including special education teachers,) and they earn an average wage of $24.12 an hour.
5. Crime scene investigator
The people surveyed said they feared the position of crime scene investigator because of the fear of blood and gore, and the fact that the job is not typically how it’s portrayed on TV shows, according to the survey.
There are 128,432 detectives, criminal investigators and forensic science technicians in the U.S. who make a median hourly pay of $35.72, according to Economic Modeling Specialists Intl.
What do you think about the survey? Which job would you classify as the scariest job in the U.S.? Let us know on the comment boards.
